Today’s
The World Around Us
will be presented
in Turkish,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Malay, Mongolian,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish
and Thai.

Greetings
gracious viewers,
and welcome to
The World Around Us.
Bellapais, meaning
“beautiful land”
or “beautiful peace”
in French,
is an ancient village
of Cyprus
near the famous harbor
of Kyrenia.
Perched on the Beşparmak
(Five Fingers) Mountains,
the village enjoys
a spectacular panoramic
view overlooking
the tranquil, turquoise
Mediterranean Sea.
Much of the village’s
popularity is drawn
from its historic buildings
and wandering
stone-paved streets.
Among the many attractions
is the famous
Bellapais Abbey,
which is considered
the most beautiful
Gothic building
in the Near East.
Today, please join us
as we visit
the Bellapais Abbey
with the pleasant
Cypriot tour guide
Mr. Can Kabakci.

Hallo and welcome.
We are in Girne, at one
of the most beautiful sites
on the island of Cyprus,
the Bellapais Abbey.
I'd like to introduce
Mr. Can here.
He will guide us
and give information
about the abbey.
Mr. Can, how are you?

Thank you and welcome.
How are you?

Thanks.
We're doing fine as well.

If you wish, we can go,
please follow me.
Let's walk through
the entry gate.

The site
of Bellapais Abbey
is believed to be
the early residence
of the Greek Bishops
of Kyrenia during
the 7th to 10th centuries.
Its location offers
geographic benefits
as a safe place
for the monks to practice
spiritually in peace.

The compound is situated
on top of a massive rock
based in between
two riverbeds, which means
an increased safety
from earthquakes.
Also, water is abundant
and the place
has strategic advantages,
which makes it
a very good stronghold.
This location is
at the heart of
three other strongholds,
The Girne Castle,
St. Hilarion Castle,
and Bufavento Castle.

The abbey, which dates
to the 12th century,
was constructed by
the constable of Cyprus,
Aimery de Lusignan,
to shelter the Augustinian
friars and canons.
It was dedicated to
St. Mary of the Mountain.

This abbey was founded
by St. Augustine monks
from Jerusalem,
and the monks settled
on the Cyprus Island
where they built
this abbey and the church
inside the compound.
The construction
started in 1198 and
ended in 1205, though
considerable annexes
were made to the compound
throughout the centuries.
What is noteworthy is
that this place was used
by religious knights
as an abbey and church.
Now if you'd like,
let's move to the church,
as I want to show
some valuable artifacts
in there, then
we can continue our tour
inside the abbey.

In1206, the abbey
adopted the rules of the
Premonstratensian order,
also known
as the White Canons,
as the members
used to wear white.
Hence, the Bellapais
was nicknamed
the “White Abbey”.
Between 1267 and 1284,
Lusignan King Hugh III
expanded the abbey.
A large part of the complex
that we see today was
constructed at the time.
However, in later centuries,
it was used
for different purposes,
then was neglected.
It was not until
the early 20th century
that the restoration work
took place, thanks
to the Lapidary Museum
and the Antiquities
Department of Cyprus.

This structure served
as a Catholic Church
from the early 13th century
to the mid-16th century.
This is the church
of the abbey.
The indigenous people
of the Island,
Orthodox Greeks,
allied with the Ottomans,
so most
of the Catholic churches
were converted
into mosques while
some were assigned to
the Orthodox community.
This is
one of those churches.

Built on a rock cliff that
plunges 30 meters below,
the spectacular abbey
complex consists of
a church, a refectory,
dormitory, and
storage rooms arranged
around the inner cloister.
The church features both
Gothic and Roman styles.

This church is known
for its unique
architectural feature
all across the world.
This structure demonstrates
a combination of
Gothic and Roman styles.
How can we tell this?
An example is the porticos
right behind us.
We can see
the tapering pattern
at the bottom.
This is
a characteristic feature
of Gothic architecture,
while the windows
up above demonstrate
the characteristics
of Roman style.

Now again
let's look at the main gate.
The pillars at the sides
reflect the characteristics
of Roman architecture
and tapering patterns,
as we see on the upper ends
of the pillars
is the Gothic style.
Also, the patterns
we see above belong to
the Venetian era.
This gate no longer served
as the main entrance
when the building
was converted into
an Orthodox church.

The door you see
right behind me leads to
the treasure chamber.
In the treasure chamber
were kept
important papers
and some documents
brought from Jerusalem.
Next to that, we can see
another sizeable door.
It is a passage to the abbey
and to the dorm upstairs
through the stairs.

The church is
the best preserved part
of the complex,
featuring an ancient belfry
above the entrance, but
only one bell has remained.
On the entrance porch
are also the remnants of
the 15th-century murals
depicting prophets and
the life of Jesus Christ,
painted by Italian artists.
One can also find
an iconostasis,
or templon, which is
the contribution of the
Greek Orthodox Church.

Right behind me
you can see
a separating barrier
adorned with icons,
this is also called templon.
This part is added
by the people
of Orthodox faith,
as a part of their beliefs.
Originally
in the Catholic era,
this barrier was not present.
Behind this there is
a very large window.
As a part of the Gothic
architectural philosophy,
this window takes
the rays of sun
dawning from the east and
illuminates the interiors.
But this templon blocks
the window, that is why
the interior of the church
is quite dim.

We can view this templon
in three parts.
On the top, Jesus and
his apostles are depicted.
In the middle,
there are depictions
from the life of Jesus.
From his birth,
to the last supper,
the crucifixion
and the resurrection.
At the lower part,
left and right to the door,
Jesus and St. Mary
are depicted
along with the icons
of other saints as well.
The Orthodox community
used to take advantage
of these icons
to deliver their teaching
to the illiterate
ordinary man, yet in time
these have evolved
into sacred depictions
narrating moments
in the history of religion.

In addition to the templon
left by the Orthodox,
the precious treasures
of the church also include
the bishop's throne,
an elaborately carved
pulpit, chandeliers,
and some icon stands.

Right beside me
is the throne,
which is the official post
of the archbishop
of the island.
The archbishop
sits on this throne
when visiting the island.
An exclusive seat for him.
Also you can see
on the left other pieces,
like the chairs where the
congregation gets seated.
These are all preserved
as they were since the place
recovered in 1983,
and today they are still
under protection.
We can tell a few things
about their functions.
For example,
this is for sitting.

However
if the service is too long,
or it needs to be
conducted standing up,
this can be reclined
upwards like this and
one can stand on his feet.
The chair you can see
on the other side also
has the identical function.
Right beside me,
there is an icon stand.
On the wings of the eagle,
you see here
with the icon stand,
icons are placed
alternating daily.
Below, there are
the closets and shelves.
There were the icons
of various other saints.
They used to place them
on the wings, like this.
A member
of the Orthodox faith
entering the church
goes and kisses this icon
as a gesture of reverence.
The life the saint
shown on the icon would
narrate to the viewers
stories about virtues.
These images
remind the people
of their spiritual duties.

On the northern side
of the cloister
is the refectory,
which is a spacious
and illuminated room.
Inside the hall are
a stone spiral staircase
and a wall pulpit, which
was used by the monks
for scripture reading
during their mealtimes.
The door at the west
that leads to the cloister
is adorned with
three coats of arms above.

Now we are
in front of the door
opening to the dining hall.
There are three emblems
over the door.
The one
at the rightmost end
is the symbol
of the Lusignan Dynasty.
The one in the middle
is the symbol
of Kingdom of Jerusalem,
and the leftmost one,
which is a combination
of the both, belongs to
the Kingdom of Cyprus.
The dining hall has
an absolutely perfect
acoustic design.

In springtime,
classical music concerts
are given in this place.
It is called
the Bellapais Concerts
and they are public events.
Right behind me
is a sarcophagus
of the Roman period.
It dates back
to the 2nd century BC.
The monks carried this
from another remote place.
Here it was given
a cross function
and turned into a fountain.
At their lunch times,
the monks used to
wash up at the fountain,
right before the gate
of the dining hall.

Finally, we come to
the cloister's courtyard,
which is considered
the most sacred spot
of the monastery complex.
Lined with arches
on three sides
and decorated with
robust cypresses planted
around the 1940s,
the yard is filled with
the air of peacefulness
and sanctity.

This place in the center
where trees are growing
is the most sacred spot
in the compound.
There we can see
the porticos, monks used to
circle around them.
That was a kind of
spiritual practice.
Behind them
are the classrooms.
In the classrooms,
the monks used to
get training
about their duties.
Upstairs of the classrooms,
there are the dorms.
The capacity of the dorm
suggests that around 200
monks used to stay
in the compound.
Downstairs is where
the cellars of the abbey
are located.
These were used to store
food, drinks, and clothes.

Thank you
for taking your time
to visit us and we hope
you will visit us again.
With all our hospitality,
we would like to see you
visiting our
Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus.

We thank Mr. Can Kabakci
for showing us
the enchanting
and spiritual monastery
of Bellapais.
With its elegant
architecture as well as
the hospitable village
around it,
the Bellapais Abbey
is surely one of the places
to be treasured
on the island of Cyprus.

Thank you
for joining us today on
The World Around Us.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television for
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News.
May your life be blessed
and protected, always.